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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27182720">Frogger</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guess_im_the_foot_guy/pseuds/Guess_im_the_foot_guy'>Guess_im_the_foot_guy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Benrey + Gordon sittin' in a tree [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Half-Life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Domestic, Fluff, M/M, nothing in particular</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:48:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,854</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27182720</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guess_im_the_foot_guy/pseuds/Guess_im_the_foot_guy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>I'll remind y'all that the frogger thing from the kiss fic was BEFORE the frogger 2 stream! I just couldn't help but reference it some.</p><p>Benrey follows up on his promise in 'experimental procedures', and brings over dinner and his atari for a night at Gordon's.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Benrey/Gordon Freeman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Benrey + Gordon sittin' in a tree [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1800958</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>164</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Frogger</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm feeling down this year, so y'all'll get gay men having a pleasant normal time and y'better not complain u hear me<br/>I mean feel free to complain though<br/>But I won't like it</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was almost six, and Gordon was sitting in his little living room trying to pretend he wasn’t waiting for the doorbell. Joshua was making a creative interpretation of the star wars lego set Gordon had gotten him that looked more like a frisbee than a ship, and both of them were ignoring the history channel bigfoot show currently playing on the t.v.</p><p> </p><p>It was one of the two weekends a month that Joshua could visit. Gordon wished it was more, but the drive from Colorado Springs was a little over four hours so he knew it just wasn’t realistic, and he didn’t push the issue. </p><p>They’d been out earlier that day for the traditional first-visit-of-the-month outings, right down to visiting their usual ice cream shop. But now they were both just waiting for Gordon to have his boyfriend over for dinner, so Joshua could meet him. </p><p> </p><p>That’d been his mother’s idea. Gordon hadn’t been keeping track of how often he’d mentioned Benrey, and he supposed he realized that too late, because she’d eventually asked about him. Gordon, in a panic, had explained that he was someone he was seeing now. Benrey didn’t know about that “someone he was seeing now” part, and Gordon hadn’t told him- which was a bad idea when there was a seven year old in the house that did, Gordon knew. But knowing that still didn’t give him enough courage to bring it up. Now, he was just sitting and worrying about it; but it was too late to do anything.</p><p> </p><p>The doorbell rang, interrupting his thoughts with a jolt. He scrambled off the couch, looking at his phone. It was only 6:04. He’d expected Benrey to be a little later, although in retrospect he didn’t know why. He was far more punctual a man than Gordon had originally expected, but given his strict attitude with rules, he wasn’t sure why he had.</p><p> </p><p>He swung the door open to reveal Benrey, as expected, but in the most formal (non-feminine) clothes Gordon had ever seen him in. He was standing on the steps with his promised dinner in both hands, wearing a beige sweater and khaki pants that almost matched it, just a bit darker. He looked remarkably beige overall, but it was also very clear he’d tried very hard to look presentable and...not like an alien, so Gordon didn’t say anything. His hair was brushed back probably as slickly as it could be.</p><p> </p><p>“Mac.”</p><p> </p><p>Benrey deposited the alarmingly large glass baking dish into Gordon’s hands without so much as a greeting, noticeable to Gordon at this point as a little nervous. The top was all covered in tinfoil, and it was surprisingly frosty. Gordon jumped in surprise when it was thrust into his hands.</p><p><br/>“It’s cold.” </p><p> </p><p>“Well duh, Freeman.” Benrey said as they went into the kitchen- Benrey following along behind Gordon as usual. “I put it in the fridge this morning. I wasn’t about to let food get all warm and gross on the drive over.” </p><p> </p><p>Gordon set it on the counter, thinking about Benrey doing things to prepare for this dinner as early as that morning and feeling his heart do a stupid little flip over it.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s fine if it sits out while the oven preheats though.”</p><p> </p><p>Gordon tilted his head. “Preheats?” </p><p> </p><p>Benrey gave him such a withering look as he scooted him aside and set the temperature on the oven himself that Gordon didn’t say anything else. </p><p> </p><p>“Oh wait-” Gordon said hurriedly right after he did, however, embarrassment overridden. “There’s uh. Stuff in there.” </p><p> </p><p>Benrey’s glare turned towards the inside of the oven instead as he opened it up, and only intensified as he pulled out the three separate non-stick frying pans that Gordon had still been able to stick eggs to, every time, but had refused to get rid of out of a combination of stubbornness and stinginess. To his relief, Benrey didn’t say anything about them besides muttering something to himself about “red copper” as he set them aside. </p><p> </p><p>That done, he dusted himself off needlessly and nodded. <br/><br/></p><p>“I’m gonna go to the car. Set up the gamez. Put that in the oven when it goes beep ok.” </p><p> </p><p>By the time Gordon had opened his mouth, Benrey was already halfway out the door, so he didn’t bother responding. </p><p> </p><p>But he did smile at the stove as he watched it pre-heat. He hadn’t expected Benrey to be anything but a shithead as always- it was weird seeing him nervous about something. It made him feel a little better himself, somehow. They were on equal ground.</p><p> </p><p>Gordon returned to find that Benrey had already set up his Atari faster than he thought was humanly possible (oh, wait), and was already coaching a rapt Joshua. Or, maybe coaching was the wrong word. He was currently playing frogger, periodically waving the controller around as he spoke, usually dying when he did so. Neither one of them seemed bothered much when it happened. The lego set, halfway transformed into a lump made out of one layer of each constituent color of block, lay abandoned next to them.</p><p>As Gordon got closer, he could make out their conversation.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that guy was bad news.” </p><p> </p><p>“What kinda bad!” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh bro he was all….floatin’. That’s almost never good news, trust me. And ugly, too.” </p><p><br/>“Ugly? Ugly how!! Was he green?!” Joshua slapped the rug lightly with each exclamation.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh nah he wasn’t green. But he was REAL ugly. Promise. Big huge head like- like a baby but it was all wrinkly like an old man too. Super messed up. And-” He paused as his arm-waving when he’d said “messed up” caused his frog to be squished, and Josha laughed, and then Benrey laughed. “Oh, and you wouldn’t believe how big that guy was he was like. Four stories at least.” </p><p> </p><p>“Four!” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah man four.” </p><p> </p><p>“No waayy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Swear on. Uh, my life.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oop.” Benrey said, getting another game over. “Shouldnt’a crossed my heart there.”</p><p> </p><p>“HA!” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, yeah.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well what did you do then?” </p><p> </p><p>“Me? Well don’t worry about me, I can get uh- bigger than that. So I just- just ate it real quick so your dad wouldn’t have to deal with it.” </p><p> </p><p>Joshua made the exaggerated sort of doubtful face that kids make. “No you didn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wh-” Benrey paused the game to put down the controller, voice equally exaggeratedly offended. “I just, uh, just swore on my own life and you don’t believe me. Sh-Uh. Golly, I don’t know how your dad raised you to be so rude to guests.” </p><p> </p><p>Joshua ignored his protests and patted the floor again. “Well if you ate it then- then what did it TASTE like?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh. Huh.” Benrey said vaguely, thinking. “I guess it wasn’t… exactly like eating it?”</p><p> </p><p>“I bet it tasted like a slug.”</p><p> </p><p>“What? Do I look like I’d know what a slug tastes like?” the mock-offended tone was back. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah you do. It’d taste like the MONSTER, silly.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, I definitely don’t know that bro, that’d be gross.” </p><p> </p><p>“Hm. Well then, you didn’t eat it.” </p><p> </p><p>Benrey waved a hand dismissively. “Believe what’cha want but I definitely ate it.” </p><p> </p><p>Gordon finally got over the surprise at the story he was only just now hearing about some kind of ...mystery alien beast (that wasn’t the one in front of him on the floor) to speak up.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, you tried the game yet, Joshie? Do you like it?”  </p><p> </p><p>“Oh shhhhoot. I didn’t give it to him yet nah. Here y’go.” Benrey handed Joshua the controller as Gordon joined them on the rug, and they both started to coach him for real (only using part of the time to bicker). </p><p> </p><p>They didn’t actually play for very long before Joshua got predictably bored at the simple game. But apparently that was something Benrey had planned for, because when he did, he cracked out “Frogger 2”, something Gordon didn’t know existed at all until that exact moment.</p><p> </p><p>It...wasn’t what he was expecting. And it wasn’t like frogger in almost any way he could tell, either, except that it had a frog in it. It was also very much a game for children, and what looked like a cheap one, so after being baffled by fairies and goblins for long enough Gordon decided he couldn’t take it, and stood. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to finish dinner, ok? I’ll call when it’s done.” <br/><br/></p><p>“What?” Benrey said, at the same time as Joshua said “OK!”- so he left them there and went to go microwave some frozen vegetables in an attempt to participate in cooking somehow. </p><p> </p><p>---</p><p> </p><p>“Green BEANS?” Joshua cried. “I don’t LIKE green beans.” </p><p> </p><p>Gordon gave him a look. “Well, is there any other vegetable you would eat instead?” </p><p> </p><p>“Nope! They’re gross.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well even if they are gross, <em> I’m </em> still gonna eat em.” <br/><br/>Joshua looked betrayed that Gordon’s so-far fun new boyfriend had taken Gordon’s side on the green-bean front. “WHAT! WHY!”</p><p> </p><p>Benrey shrugged. “Make ya- uh, stronger and sh. And stuff. Doesn’t matter how a power-up tastes right.” </p><p> </p><p>Joshua scowled back. “But I hate them! I’ll probably….. <b>die </b>if I eat one.” </p><p> </p><p>Benrey waved a hand. “Nah, you won’t. You’re stronger than that bro, I can tell already. You won’t be taken out by a<em> bean </em>. Right?” </p><p> </p><p>Josh frowned, caught. Benrey clicked his tongue a few times. </p><p> </p><p>“Uhhh here what about this. Race.” </p><p> </p><p>“Race?” </p><p> </p><p>Benrey nodded sagely now that he had the kids’ attention again. “Let’s see who can eat theirs all all at once faster. Get it out of the way for the whole. The power-up. Then it’s like there’s just mac for dinner, right? I even have more. Handicap.”</p><p> </p><p>Joshua squint-frowned harder for a second before finally nodding. “Ok.” </p><p> </p><p>“So you in?” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah! And I’m gonna WIN too!”</p><p> </p><p>“OK! YOU CAN USE YOUR HANDS GO.” Benrey declared immediately, and then did so himself, followed by Josh after a squeal of surprise. It wasn’t much of a contest- Gordon wasn’t exactly sure if what Benrey did with his mouth to eat every bean on his plate in one fell swoop qualified as ‘horrifying’, but it was close at least. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, hey- whoa, man, don’t choke!” Gordon protested, even as he fought laughter. Joshua said something unintelligible through a chipmunk mouthful of green beans, which Gordon didn’t scold him for, because he was eating them for once, at least. “And don’t eat with your hands.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey bro it’s faster. Also I uh, I win.” Benrey replied instead, miraculously finished. </p><p> </p><p>“Aw, man.” Josh managed after he’d angrily chewed for a while. Benrey shrugged. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey look man practice real hard and maybe you’ll beat me next time. Level up and sh. All that.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re on.” Joshua pouted as he set on the Mac n’ cheese. It was wonderful, after all. It was so wonderful that Gordon couldn’t even really feel bad about having been shown up in the cooking skills department. </p><p> </p><p>--</p><p> </p><p>“So?”</p><p> </p><p>Benrey handed Gordon the rest of the dishes, which he deposited in the sink and started to wash. Joshua was occupying himself with ‘Frogger 2’ while they cleaned up. He was apparently doing his own dishes at home now, but Gordon didn’t want to make his few visits here not fun, so he hadn’t implemented that sort of policy yet. </p><p> </p><p>“So what?” </p><p> </p><p>“Pretty cool trick huh.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that.” Benrey picked up a towel, and Gordon handed him the first clean plate to dry. “I dunno man, should he be eating that fast?” </p><p> </p><p>“Huh? What? He ate em, ‘s the point, stop being’ p- stuck up. Picky.”</p><p> </p><p>“I am not being <em> picky </em>!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm. He ever eat em all before? Freeman’s dad skill tree build good enough and I just didn’t see, or what?”</p><p> </p><p>He had him there. “....Ok, fair point.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a lull in which he handed Benrey two forks, before he spoke up about something that’d been bothering him all night. </p><p> </p><p>“Did you…. Uh. Was there really some kind of...other alien in Xen?” </p><p> </p><p>“Huh?” Benrey (sort of) dried the forks and put them in the dish-rack. “Oh. Yeah.” </p><p> </p><p>“Did… you didn’t <em> eat </em> it, right? That definitely wasn’t a thing. Right?” </p><p> </p><p>Benrey shrugged. “Yeah I mean- eating it probably isn’t the right word, you’re right.”</p><p> </p><p>Gordon was just about to ask him what the fuck that meant when a squeal that could only be made by a small child interrupted them from the living room.</p><p> </p><p>“AAIEEE! I’M DEAD, I’M DEAD!!” </p><p> </p><p>Gordon went right to look, benrey following. He let out a sigh when he saw nothing was wrong.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh- the game. You can’t scare me like that, Joshie.” He looked back in the kitchen, where the water was still running.</p><p> </p><p>“Here, um, uhhh-uncle Benrey’s got this one, ok?” He waved them both off as he went back into the kitchen. Benrey meandered dutifully over to the game over screen in question without a peep, and joined Joshua in sitting on the rug. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m not your uncle btw.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh I know!” Joshua declared smugly. “Dad wouldn’t adopt YOU, you’re too old.” Before Benrey could even pretend offense at that, he continued. “You’d be an extra dad. Like Mom’s new extra dad. Right?”</p><p> </p><p>Benrey’s mouth fell open a little before he leaned in. “Huh? Did- did your dad mention marrying me or sumn?” </p><p> </p><p>“Noooope.” Joshua chirped. “You’re just boyfriends, right?” </p><p> </p><p>Benrey’s surprised expression morphed slowly into a wide, smug grin. He sat back and echoed Joshua’s tone.  “Yeeeup. We sure are.” </p><p> </p><p>“Now, ok. Lil man lay it on me- what happened.” </p><p> </p><p>“Oh look he- I- He fell and DIED like this!” Joshua exclaimed, attention back on the game, immediately dumping the poor frog sprite off the ledge of the tower again. The animation was... lacking, to the say the least, in such a way that the poor frog tumbling to its doom really was sort of a shocking sight considering the tone of the game. </p><p>That also meant that Benrey couldn’t respond right away- he was laughing too hard in surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“What the fuck.” He wheezed, wiping tears out of his eyes. It took him a second to realize his mistake, still catching his breath- then he froze. </p><p> </p><p>He pointed firmly at Josh, who was already looking back at him with gleeful offense, eyes wide. </p><p>“Hey!!! That’s a bad word!!” </p><p> </p><p>“Uh- Don’t tell your dad I said that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Only if you do this part for me. It….. it <em> sucks </em>!” </p><p> </p><p>Benrey ignored the gleeful ‘swear’ since he really had no room to talk, and took the controller. </p><p>“Ok. Deal. Pact. Watch the uh. Game master. Frog master.”</p><p> </p><p>Gordon came back in just as Benrey hit another game over screen, the sad little frog pixel floating randomly near the bottom of it. </p><p> </p><p>“...Did it crash?” he almost sounded hopeful. </p><p> </p><p>“What?” Benrey said. </p><p>“No it’s like that. Make him do it!” Joshua answered in his place, swatting lightly at Benrey’s arm. Benrey didn’t seem to mind being talked over.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, think your dad’s the uh, better gamer huh? We’ll see about that. Here Freeman, give it a try.” </p><p> </p><p>Gordon’s lack of interest in the terrible kids’ game predictably faded in the face of a challenge. He took the offered controller with a flourish. </p><p> </p><p>“Of course I am. Here, I’ll get you two out of this level in no time.” </p><p> </p><p>-</p><p> </p><p>When Gordon missed a jump and it happened to him, too, there was a half beat of silence before the other two could make out his wheezing, near-silent laughter.</p><p> </p><p>“What the fuck?” he gasped finally, still laughing. </p><p> </p><p>When he froze and rounded on the other two, they were both looking at him with gleeful mock offense at once. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t tell your mother I said that.” </p><p> </p><p>Then he turned to Benrey. “Don’t tell his mother I said that.” </p><p> </p><p>“Only if you WIN!” Joshua declared immediately. “This game SUCKS!” He then giggled at his own swear. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey, don’t-....” Gordon trailed off, blushing. “Nevermind.” He then looked helplessly at Benrey. </p><p> </p><p>“Huh? Uh, don’t look at me. I don’t control the kid. Better win.” </p><p> </p><p>“Alright. Fine. But not in a..bribey way.” Gordon declared (sort of weakly), and took the controller.</p><p> </p><p>In the end, he got to the inside level after before he fell from the top of a tower all the way back down, undoing a ton of work, and they all ended up laughing until Gordon got a headache, game forgotten. Still, “Dad’s new boyfriend” got a glowing review from Josh. Gordon was left with enough leftovers to be eating mac and cheese for a week.</p><p> </p><p>All in all, Gordon counted the night a success. Sure, he got a lot of shit about telling his family they were dating before even Benrey knew himself. But there were a lot worse ways that introducing a boyfriend to your family could go, especially when he was an alien anomaly that he’d met at work. And Joshua ate his vegetables now too, to boot. (Even if he did so as fast as possible at the beginning of a meal.) Things were going better than he could have hoped.</p><p> </p><p>That is until he next called Josh’s mom and she asked to meet Benrey next time, too.</p>
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